The next morning Soohyun and Shi Yoon met at a café. “So what did you find out?” Soohyun asked.

Shi Yoon passed him the manila folder that he made last night. It contained all the statements and evidence they gathered, minus the briefcase. As he took a look through the papers, he told him what Sungi told him. “He told me Secretary Lee was the one who cut his brake wires.” Soohyun looked up in surprise. “He said he witnessed it himself,” the other continued. “And he knows who’s behind it. Secretary Lee was ordered to do so and so was the man who tried to hurt Jisu.”

“Did he tell you who it was?” Shi Yoon hesitated. He heard loud and clear what he whispered in his ear but was reluctant to tell anyone until he found any evidence. “I’ll tell you when I have enough evidence. I don’t want any of us to make any accusations until everything is clear.”

Since it was the weekend and Soohyun didn’t have anything to do, he decided to drop by Kai’s apartment. “Hyung!” Kai exclaimed when he opened the door, surprised to see him. “What’s up?” he asked as he stepped back for the other to come in.

“I was bored,” he answered and the younger scoffed. “I don’t believe that. If you were looking for Jisu then she’s not here. She stepped out to buy some things for lunch.”

“I wasn’t looking for her,” he denied. “We were friends before she even knew me.” Kai rolled his eyes and headed to the kitchen where he was cutting up some vegetables. “Don’t you miss her though?”

He noticed his voice sounded softer. “Of course,” he answered. “Imagine how I feel whenever she calls for my father.” Kai smiled lightly. “I guess.” “What about you? Do you like her better this way?”

“…I’m kind of on the edge. She’s back to being herself. Believe it or not, she was like this 10 years ago. She never cussed, she was never so sarcastic and she laughed and smiled a lot, even though her parents were angry at her. She was like that to me. But during these past 10 years, she put a wall around herself. I don’t know if I’m happy that the wall broke down or not. But what about you? Do you like her this way?”

Soohyun paused to think. Did he like the way she always yelled at him or did he like it the way she smiled at him? Of course, he liked the latter but like Kai said, that wall crumbled down and he didn’t like to see her vulnerable like that. “I’m on the same boat. But honestly, I liked her before. At least she doesn’t think I’m my father. But I wonder, is she ever going to get her memories back?”

“She did suppress it for 10 years. I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

“But she needs to remember. What if during those 10 years something happened? What if she remembered the briefcase?”

Kai’s eyes widened and he stopped to look at him. “Hyung. Don’t even mention it. That’s strictly unspoken of.”

“But she’s not here,” Soohyun reasoned, now interested in the backstory. “What happened?”

The other shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it. You shouldn’t even have known about it!”

“Shi Yoon told me. He told me she was a sent a briefcase with…body parts.” Even he was hesitant to talk about it, knowing that it was his father that was in there. Before he could say anything else, the door closing echoed through the house but when they looked towards the door, no one was there. They looked at each other with wide eyes before Kai rushed towards the door and opened it. When he did, a grocery bag was blocking the doorway.

“Noona!” he yelled down the hall, in hopes she wasn't too far. He turned back around. "I told you not to speak about it!" he yelled in anger. Soohyun was speechless. Did she hear everything? "I'm going after her. Go back to your apartment, hyung. I'll call you when I find her." With that, he ran out to find Jisu, leaving Soohyun frozen in his spot.

Jisu walked into the cafe where she met with him not too long ago with Shi Yoon. He was already waiting there with two cups in front of him. He waved when she arrived but she wasn't there to greet him. She sat down across from him and got straight down to business. "Why did you all lie to me?" she asked and his smile immediately dropped. "Who the hell is Detective Kim, Zico. Who the hell is he?! And what about the briefcase? Why couldn't you just tell me the truth?!" The whole cafe was looking at them but she didn't care. All she wanted was answers and she wanted them now.

Zico stood up. "I'll show you," he said. "So follow me." They left the cafe and headed towards a more private place which turned out to be Zico's office. "Remember this place?" he asked as they entered the messy room.

"It's your office. It says so right outside your door," she deadpanned and he laughed. "I thought you'd be mad and sad, not making me laugh."

"...I got it out of my system before I came to you. I just want answers here. I head home to hear Kai and...whoever Detective Kim is, speaking about me. I want to know everything."

Zico ushered her to take a seat at his desk and he sat right across from her, taking out a folder from his locked cabinet. "I'm not sure you want to know everything."

She frowned. "Why not?"

"Because there is a reason why you decided to suppress those memories. And you did so twice," he explained. "Those two experiences were very traumatic."

"I understand that you're just looking out for me but I need to know. The statute of limitations end in three weeks and we haven't gotten anywhere. There's no evidence anywhere and Ji Sangi wasn't of much help either. I'm afraid that if we don't get anywhere, we won't be able to find out who killed Detective Woo. I spent so long on this case and I'm not about to tap out because of some traumatic experience. If there was anything I might have forgotten, now is a good time to find out."

He sighed and leaned back on his chair. "No matter what the situation, you're always so strong." He sighed again and nodded firmly. "Fine. I'll let you know everything. But first..." He took out his phone and clicked on the voice recorder. "I, Zico, am not responsible for any post traumatic events of Kwon Jisu. She was the one who wanted to know everything from the beginning of Detective Kim's and Detective Woo's cold case. Do you swear and agree that you won't hold any suitcases towards me?"

"...I swear on my badge."

---

Shi Yoon was looking through Jisu's files that he obtained from her apartment when he got a call from her. "Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm at home," he answered. "Why we you calling me so late at night? Is there something wrong?"

"Let's meet," said Jisu. "Right now. I’ll come to you."

"O-okay," he answered, taken aback a tiny bit by the request. It was in the middle of the night. "I'll text you my address."

In thirty minutes, his door bell rung just as he finished hiding the files. He opened the door and was immediately greeted by Jisu's hand on the cheek. Her hit was so hard that his face turned the other way. He was frozen in surprise by the blow. He turned back to see her crying. Although it was predictable, he allowed her to slap him once more. "Why did everyone hide it from me?!" she screamed.

Shi Yoon snapped out of it and pulled her inside his apartment, closing the door. "I can explain," he said.

"There's nothing to explain! You all deceived me! Why did you make me think Detective Kim was alive? Why couldn't you tell me from the start?!" Her sobbing was making it hard for her to speak. She as a crying mess and she tried to hide her face in between her hands. Never had she cried like that in front of anyone. Shi Yoon pulled her towards his chest and rubbed her back, trying his best to console her. Hearing her cry broke his heart. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice cracking. "I'm so sorry." She continued to cry, now wrapping her arms around his waist.

After she calmed down, he sat her down at the dining table. He placed a cup of hot rose tea in front of her before sitting down beside her. She only stared at it, not able to muster up the energy to even hold it up to her lips. It was the first time she ever remembered crying that hard and it took a lot of her energy. "Where would you like me to start?" asked Shi Yoon.

She looked at him before looking away. "I already heard everything from Zico."

"...even about the briefcase?"

She scoffed in disbelief. "So it's true. Everyone knew about it but me. It's not fair."

"No one said anything because we knew it could somehow trigger your memories."

"Well, you don't have to worry about it. I don't remember. He told me the briefcase was sent to my office and I passed out. I was hoping I would remember something, but nothing happened."

He didn't know what to say. He wished that she never found out the truth but now that she knew, what now? They had leads but not enough evidence. At this rate, the case would never be solved. He stood up and walked over to his desk to take out a report. He got back and placed it in front of her. "This is what I gathered so far, including the briefcase. Detective Kim's car was tampered with. The wires of the brakes were cut so that after a number of uses, it would stop working. He wasn't able to stop his car and swerved towards the rail to avoid crashing into another car. Then, his car rolled down the hill but his body was nowhere to be found. A week later, a briefcase arrived at your office, stating it was Detective Kim and after the DNA results, it was proven true. The evidence of the briefcase was not included in any files because of Detective Woo's request to protect you. You and Detective Woo spent ten years trying to crack the case but there were no leads. Or at least none that was written down."

He flipped to the other page. "I looked through all of Detective Woo's files and the entries he wrote did not match. At first, he wrote about Detective Kim but as he continued to write, the topic changed to you. He was writing about your health and wellbeing. He also wrote unnecessary topics about you that were totally unrelated to the case. It was like he stopped trying. There's also something else." He pointed to a specific sentence. "No matter what happens, I'll always protect her. I'll protect her from everyone."

"What does that mean?" Jisu questioned.

"I'm not sure. He wrote that in the middle of writing down an entry about how you were able to enter college. I thought it was strange. I'm thinking that he knew who the culprit was but decided not to tell you or even bother to write it down, in case you saw them."

She shook her head. "But, who would it be? I don't know anyone that would be of importance to me."

He sighed, internally fighting with his conscious. Could he tell her what Sangi told him the other day? If he did, what would happen? But then again, since she already knew everything, he shouldn't hide things from her anymore. "Sangi told me something," he started. She waited for him to continue. "He told me Secretary Lee was the one who cut Detective Kim's brake wire but I have no evidence of that. He also told me someone ordered him to do so."

"Who was it?"

"...your father."

Her jaw dropped. She was rendered speechless. She and her parents were never on good terms but she never expected hearing that. She couldn't believe it. There was no way her father ordered people to hurt Detective Kim or her. There was just no way. "And also..." he flipped to another page. "We finally got a clear image of the license plate that tried to run you over one time, if you remember. That license plate belonged to your father, Jisu."

A quiet tear escaped the corner of her eye. Everything was just too overwhelming for her. She found out the whole case was a lie, both of her most treasured and inspirational role models were gone, and now her dad was involved. Suddenly, she felt like she couldn't breathe. Her hands grabbed her neck, scratching it as she tried to get some air but it felt like her lungs didn’t know how to function. Shi Yoon's eyes widened. He grabbed her hands, preventing her from inflicting any self-harm. "Calm down, Jisu! Hey, look at me! Breathe, Jisu. I'm right here!" She couldn't hear him and no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to breathe so in a few seconds, she passed out.

Jisu slowly woke up to an unfamiliar yet familiar setting. She looked down to see a green oxygen mask on her face and removed that. The room was dark so she guessed it must've been nighttime. She looked around and noticed someone in the edge of her bed sleeping. Her eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark yet but judging from the unruly hair, he must've been Kai. She looked to the other side and stopped when she saw another figure sleeping on the couch. She blinked slowly a couple times, trying to get herself adjusted. When she figured out who was in the couch, her blood ran hot. She remembered who that man is. He's the man who got her agitated because of a stupid speeding ticket. He's the son of her role model who was killed and put in a briefcase. She remembered everything.

Her breathing rate suddenly increased. She was having another panic attack. She clutched the blanket and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to concentrate on her breathing. Slowly, she was able to get her breathing back to normal but that couldn't help stop the tears that continuously flowed down her cheeks as she replayed the moment she found out about the briefcase.

At first she threw up. It was the first time ever seeing human body parts. The sight and the smell reeked. Then, she went crazy when she read the note that was directed to her. "Guess who this is? It's your favorite person in the world." She remembered screaming, crying and throwing up the whole day. She was young and she didn't know if it was actually him or not but when she overheard people say the DNA results were a match, she passed out, only to have it erased from her memories.

She also remembered the moment she was kidnapped.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, annoyed at how tight he tied the ropes.

"I was ordered to do this."

"Okay, sure. But why now? I was with someone and he would have called the police by now."

"...I was ordered to." He finished tying the ropes and sat near the window with a wooden stick in his hand.

"...okay. It would be a stupid question if I asked who, isn't it?" She got no reply. "But you know, although it is a suicide mission, you could have changed the license plate of your car." That got his attention. "Why the hell are you using my dad's car? What did he do to you? No, what did you do to him?"

"And why do you think I did anything? I think your other question is more appropriate." He tapped the wooden stick against the brick.

“Okay, fine.” She decided to enlighten him. “What did he do to you?”

“He did everything I asked him for. He provided me with shelter, food and money. What else did I need but that?”

“So, in exchange of all that, he told you to kidnap me? Why would he do that? I never spoke a word to him since the last 10 years!”

“He only provided me with orders, not information. If you want to ask your dad, how about you call him yourself?”

She sighed. “Fine. At least tell me something else. Were you the one who tried to run me over that one day?”

“They were orders,” he confessed. Jisu felt like she was having a mental breakdown. This guy was confessing too easily that she had a hard time believing him. On the other hand, if she did believe him, then she had to deal with her father. They haven’t spoken or seen each other in a decade so why was he doing this all of the sudden? Before she could think another thought, she was hit in the head with the wooden stick he was holding. It wasn’t enough force to have her pass out but she was dizzy for a couple seconds before she was able to ask, “Was my father behind the detectives’ accidents?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Before I knew it, I was talking too much. Forgive me.”

THWACK

Jisu sat up as gently as possible so that she wouldn’t wake Kai up. She stood up quietly left the room. Then, she headed towards the water fountain to grab herself a mouthful of water.

“Just in, a former detective was found dead in his home just hours ago. He was identified as Ji Sangi by his neighbors. He was wanted for five years, ten years ago when he was pointed out as a prime suspect in a homicide case.” Jisu slammed the wall with her palm, making people stare at her. She clenched her hands into fists as angry tears flowed down her face. Just as she was getting closer to the suspect, the evidence and witnesses were destroyed. It angered her so much! Was her dad really the one behind everything?

She wiped her tears and returned to her room but seeing the two males she didn’t want to see the most, she closed the door and sat outside. It wasn’t long before someone called her name. She looked up to see Shi Yoon approaching her. “What are you doing out here? You should rest.” She looked away. “Jisu?” He took a seat next to her. “Are you alright?”

“I remember everything…”

His eyes widened. “Everything? Even…”

She nodded. “Even the briefcase.” He was speechless. What was he supposed to say? “Don’t worry about it.,” she said, reading his mind. “You don’t even need to say anything. Just let me figure things out myself. Also, don’t let the others know I got my memories back. Kai would flip and Soohyun wouldn’t be able to keep a secret,” she said, remembering how she found out everything was a lie in the first place.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” he apologized. “I promise I won’t let the others know and we will find the main culprit.” She sighed. If only it was that easy.